


how long is forever?

by onlyeverthus



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 22:04:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7379152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyeverthus/pseuds/onlyeverthus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How long is forever? Not long enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	how long is forever?

The first time he asks her, she’s cross-legged on the jumpseat, eyes on the book in her lap, while he’s tinkering beneath the TARDIS console. They’ve been stuck on this planet for a couple of days now so he can do some routine maintenance on the TARDIS, and he’s starting to worry that she’s getting bored.

He slides out from beneath the console and looks up at her, watching her a moment as she reads. She doesn’t _look_ bored, at any rate, thoroughly engrossed in her book (a 51st century retelling of _Pride and Prejudice_ ), but something spurs him to ask the question anyway.

“How long are you gonna stay with me?”

She looks at him, and an amused smirk curves her lips. “Forever.”

“Forever?” he repeats, pushing up off the floor to stand in front of her. “That’s a really long time.”

“I know that,” she laughs. “And that’s how long I’m gonna stay with you. Forever.”

 

It becomes something of a game for them. He’ll ask her again, just out of the blue, and her answer is always the same.

“How long are you gonna stay with me?” on the very top of the Eiffel Tower in 1900, sipping tea and eating macarons.

“Forever,” happily swinging her feet and admiring the view.

 

“How long are you gonna stay with me?” deep inside of her, sweat slicked bodies pressed together, hands gripping her hips and teeth scraping against her shoulder.

“Forever,” arms and legs wrapped tight around him, breath hot on his ear, until she tightens around him and her voice fills the room, spiraling around him and leaving both of them gasping.

 

“How long are you gonna stay with me?” brushing her hair back as she lays on the infirmary table, scraped and bruised and bloodied, but alive.

“Forever,” breathing through the pain but smiling up at him, fingers tight on his arm, eyes brimming with love and trust.

 

“How long are you gonna stay with me?” admiring the view, a fiery sunset on a craggy planet.

“Forever,” hands in her pockets, hair moving gently in the breeze, a slow, easy smile spreading across her face.

 

A frozen beach, and she’s right in front of him, but he can’t touch her. He’s lost her, and he has one chance to say what needs to be said.

_Rose Tyler –_

She’s gone, and the TARDIS glows serenely at him, bluish-green light and the rhythmic pulsing of her heart. 

Forever wasn’t long enough, but it’s many years later, millions and billions, that he realizes she was right. 

 

_How long are you gonna stay with me?  
Forever._


End file.
